Waterbug

In Amsterdam

The bells are ringing in Amsterdam,
in Amsterdam, I'm sure.
I can't hear the bells in Amsterdam
but I'm sure they're ringing,
messieurs et dames,
in Amsterdam,
I'm sure.

Pam

My head

My head is a concept.
When I say "in my head"
I can mean as big as all outdoors
and as wide as time;
as vaulted as the blue sky
or full of thunder and
those distant flashes of lightening.
Certainly I never mean
what you see.

When I say "out of my head"
you better believe I DON'T mean
crazy. I mean way out there,
in my own universe.

Pam

Poster Wednesday

Wednesday could be poster day
for the week, but this week,
I find that the replacement we hired
for technical writer/graphic artist
is taking another job. Well, good for him.
I'll try not to condemn him too much.
As he says: "He's got to look out
for himself." I guess so, since
nobody else will, after this.
It's bad manners to just not show,
to let us go until mid-day
on the day he was supposed to start.
I'll just take heart. Sooner or later,
we'll find my replacement,
or not, and I'll ride off
into the bloody sunset. Meanwhile,
I had a wonderful Wednesday
making posters, for a show.

Pam

Quotidian Monday

I discover that Quotidienne is --
perhaps French, certainly NOT English
(my online dictionary tells me)
and steers me right. All day
I work on quotidian tasks,
a poster for a show,
incorporating a Minneapolis
Warehouse, which I can
fade and blend, making it,
somehow, NOT quotidian.

Pam

Quotidienne

The Saturday tasks
have branched into Sunday:
laundry, vacuuming, sorting old clothes,
bills, and retirement planning, eating
and washing the dishes, talking with
the neighbor who has just
sold her house.
So I have not drawn anything new.
Here is an old drawing, into which
I have added some color!

Pam

I promise

If I get the mundane things
that need to be done today, done,
I will do a NEW drawing for the blog!

Pam

Shades of Seriousness and Hilarity

A poet friend writes of years spent studying literature:
"Aside from examining the ethical values of
fictional characters (which seemed our main concern),
we considered the differences between literary
naturalism, realism, neoclassicism and romanticism as
discussed in Victor Hamm's book PATTERNS OF CRITICISM,
which was enlightening. We noted that Chaucer was
ambivalent toward the Prioress, that Hamlet seemed
indecisive, that Daisy's bad driving in THE GREAT
GATSBY was a sign of her irresponsibility. Something
seemed to be missing as I studied these things, but I
didn't know what it was."

And so on and so on and then:

"But my youth wasn't totally wasted. I met J.F.
Powers, Walt Kelly, Al Capp, Daniel Keyes and Bert
Lahr while young and spent 3 hours drinking martinis
with Ogden Nash, so I have few regrets."

And I stop right there. Walt Kelly and Ogden Nash!
What fun!!! This world is so sadly serious.

Pam

The waterbug

Who knew, when we chose
"Waterbug"
for the name of our
blog, how many people had already
appropriated the name.
There's Waterbug Records,
select folk CDs.
There's a waterbug tours.
WaterBug is a stand alone water alarm .
There's a Waterbug Story
about a happy colony of waterbugs that lives
far below the surface of the pond, scurrying
over the soft mud, far from the sun.
This last is most interesting, although
it's a fantasy.

I remember when we started this blog.
November 6, 2003:

"Waterbug", you said.
"Waterbug? How about lightningbug?"
"I like waterbug better."
"Waterbug it is."
Naming conventions.
After all, if the topic is ANYTHING,
the title doesn't really matter.
But we fussed over it for some time
before we agreed.

Pam

What shall I say?

What shall I say when I have nothing to say?
Perhaps we could talk about the weather,
or how awful it is in Iraq, about the rise and fall
of the stock market, about vegetables
and how nice they are this time of year
if you live near a good market.

(Did I ever tell you that when I was young
I thought tomatoes were horrible things?
They were picked green and got all mealy
and tasteless by the time they got red.
Perhaps tomatoes were the actual
apple of the wicked witch in Snow White.)

What shall we talk about
when I've got nothing to say.

Pam

Killing changes people

I just read a very good post by my blogger friend Jere on Blog no Michi (Saturday, May 15, 2004) about the current war/world situation which pretty much sums up my feelings. It ends thus:
-----------------------
I believe I speak for all Scientologists, as a group, when I say that we want this:

A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights, are the aims of Scientology. -- L Ron Hubbard

Those aims are worth working toward, and you will find us working hard in Israel and in Russia and the US, wherever we are, to educate, enlighten, and counsel people toward those aims.
----------------------
Pam